Kevin Costner: NFL nixed scene of fans hanging him in effigy

While the league allowed permission to use its logos and images for the upcoming movie “Draft Day,” there were certain lengths they weren’t willing to go.

Actor Kevin Costner, who plays the General Manager of the Browns in the film, told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times that the league stepped in and cut a scene of fans hanging his character in effigy.

“I thought it was a real funny moment, but I think the NFL’s really cracking down on fan behavior both inside the stadium and outside,” Costner said. “The idea of hanging somebody, for as funny as I thought it was, and as realistic as I thought it was, it was just an image that I didn’t want in the movie. That was a small price for us to pay, but it shows that they were watching very closely.”

That the league allowed the use of their trademarks at all is a bit of an upset, since so many movies have had to make do with fictional teams and uniforms, which Costner said would have dampened his enthusiasm for the project.

wait, the NFL owns the teams? then how the hell do they get by without paying any federal tax? The excuse that the individual franchises pay taxes is absurd, if it is true that the NFL owns the rights to the teams…….

I saw it at an advanced screening and yeah there are parts that are unbelieveable but its a movie. The Browns are not the only team that its about several other team’s front offices are involved. Overall, I thought it was good and I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

bsizemore68 says:Apr 1, 2014 1:34 PM

If you don’t like it, then don’t go to the movie. Bill

bobman2 says:Apr 1, 2014 2:12 PM

Costner never struck me as a guy with much of a sense of humor, but his quotes keep coming back to how funny the mock hanging was. Personally I agree, and it seems completely real, but, ah well, the league is protecting the shield. Ugh. If you want real teams in the movie, you have to live with the limitations. If you want the players to shoot laser beams out of their eyes and snort the hashmarks made from cocaine, well, then you have to live with a lot of bogus footage of the Cleveland Conquerors. I’m happy to watch it when it comes out.

Hopefully the NFL didn’t object to scenes of fans throwing batteries, ice-balls, or bottles at players/refs, because stuff like that could totally never happen.

The City of Cleveland may not be able to produce any winners on the field of play but when it comes to making sports movies, there is no better place to go for the genuine pain, sorrow and uncanny ability to lose in any situation and every way possible.